Mothers Group Reflection #16: Ready For Battle

One dreary afternoon, I had the bright idea to create a visual object lesson for my kids about the importance of putting on the Armor of God. We pulled out the Bible, spent some time reviewing the verses and pulled out some foam board, markers and scissors and went to work. By the time we were done, each of my three children was fully decked out with their belts, breastplates, shoes, shields, and helmets. All three of them looked at me and asked, “where’s yours?” Hmm…didn’t really think that far. After all the work to painstakingly cut out all of these pieces, I wasn’t really in the mood to “create” anymore. So, I quickly whipped out another sword and a shield, thinking, “I’m bigger. I can take them.” That lasted about thirty seconds.

My oldest, who was ten years old at the time, had grown quite agile over time, without my notice, and all three of them were everywhere at once. Here I was, thinking I was going to teach them a lesson, and Mom. Got. Schooled. Badly. Kids: 1,000; Mom: zip! It wasn’t even close. Hard as I tried, I could not pierce their “armor” because they were so well protected, and they exploited my huge lack of protection at every turn. And suddenly, my high and mighty lesson took a very different turn. But we all learned, in thankfully a really fun way, about the importance of taking God’s direction seriously, completely, and taking the time to fully prepare for the daily spiritual battle.

God tells us in 1 Peter 5:8, “Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.” He knows the adversary we face, that he is cunning, knowledgeable, and looking for his next victim and oh, yeah, he never sleeps. Thankfully, neither does God, and better yet, we have the instruction manual to help us out in any situation. In Ephesians 6:10-17 NRSVCE, we find a great recipe for guarding against all the wiles of our enemy:

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

One of our saints, St. Ignatius of Loyola, gives us further insight into this battle. He composed spiritual rules for discernment to aid us in our spiritual journey. In the first week rules for discernment, the fourteenth rule, St. Ignatius describes this enemy we face, “likewise he conducts himself as a leader, intent upon conquering and robbing what he desires. For, just as a captain and leader of an army in the field, pitching his camp and exploring the fortification and defenses of a stronghold, attacks it at the weakest point, in the same way the enemy of human nature, roving about, looks in turn at all our theological, cardinal and moral virtues; and where he finds us weakest and most in need for our eternal salvation, there he attacks us and attempts to take us.”

As we enter into Lent this week, we are encouraged to review our spiritual life and look for these areas of weakness, these areas that need to be spiritually fortified, or the places where we are completely open to attack, like those missing pieces of armor, so that by the grace of God, we can continue in our journey triumphantly. In this process of spiritual fortification, we will slowly be more conformed to His image as well.

Maybe this weak area is a habit or an attachment of some sort that we need to let go of, maybe it is something we need to add, such as more consistent prayer time each day. Maybe we need to relinquish our hold on things and practice more trust of God by letting go of some of our material possessions in almsgiving. By prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we loosen the hold of earthly things, and raise our hearts to the One from whom all good things come. It is here that we find strength for the journey. As we receive the ashes on our foreheads this week and hear the words, “remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return,” we remember that this life is short and it will come to and end. We are invited to reflect on how we are living the time we have left, and what things are holding us back from becoming all that God has planned for us, in order to serve Him well.

As we prepare for Ash Wednesday, if you haven’t done so already, consider taking some time to ask God to reveal to you those areas of weakness in your defenses, and also for the strength to really work on that area during the upcoming weeks of Lent.

Thoughts for further reflection:

How will you personally apply the three Lenten disciplines of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving in the upcoming weeks? Consider writing out a “battle plan” for Lent and posting it in a prominent place as a daily reminder of your goal.

Verse for the week:

“Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith, for you know that your brothers and sisters in all the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:8-11 NRSVCE